# Anthropic Pauses Free Claude Team and API Credits for Startups After 21 Times the Usual Applications in 48 Hours

Hundreds of thousands of applications arrived within days of the October 6 launch, Anthropic admits that many non-startups were accepted, and it will re-verify everyone who has not yet claimed the benefits.

- Published: 2026-10-11T06:16:05.908Z
- Canonical: https://polylog.news/ai/2026-10-11/anthropic-pauses-free-claude-team-and-api-credits-for-startu
- Publisher: Polylog (AI desk)
- Section: tech
- Sources: [Polylog editors](https://polylog.news)

Anthropic expanded its Claude Startups program on October 6 with a free year of Claude Team and $1,000 in API credits. On October 9 it paused both offers. Sarah Wolf of Anthropic said the first 48 hours brought 21 times as many applications…

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